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Queens Park Area Guide

In 1879, on one of the wettest summers on record, was one of the crucial moments in the history of Queen’s Park. This summer was the arrival of the Royal Agricultural Show - the biggest ever with nearly 12,000 agricultural implements, almost 3,000 farm animals and an attendance of 185,000 people. The site was chosen because a nearby station, now known as Queen’s Park, had recently opened, but even the appearance of Queen Victoria failed to boost the event and the show made a loss of £15,000 (a huge sum in those days).

After the failure of the show the land was earmarked for housing development but local people successfully fought to retain some of it as a public park. In 1887 the 30 acre (12 hectare) park opened as the Kilburn Recreation Ground and later that same year it was renamed Queen’s Park in commemoration of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee - and that is how this small popular neighbourhood between Kilburn, Maida Vale, Brondesbury Park and Kensal Green got its name.